The Manipus Demon
Spiciness: 4/5
Unlikely to TPK but a real threat to individuals.
Feeds about 3-5 players, level 1-5
Scales for: Number of Players, Player Level
Ingredients:
- Manipus Demon
- Optional: The Manipus could work well with an assassin who uses it as a familiar to do hit jobs, or a spellcaster who wants to take out the party and knows that silencing a spellcaster in advance is a great way to assure victory. Alternatively, the Manipuses might be working in hunting pairs, capable of defeating a player stealthily and then dragging it away silently for consumption.
Scale the Save DCs: If your party is higher than level 1, increase the Manipus' health by +10 for each level over 1. For every 2 levels above 1, add +1 to the Manipus' Save DCs.
Scaling for party size If you have a large party, and they have multiple guards awake at night, consider throwing in a second Manipus. You could even have one act as a distraction while the other latches onto its prey!
Preparation
The Manipus is the Strangler Demon, a strange octopus with human-like hands. You'll probably want the Manipus to sneak in first, usually on sleeping prey. If your party has some veterans in it, you usually have 1, maybe 2 players awake and vigilant at a given time. You'll need to slip past them, making necessary stealth checks. Think of this as a reverse heist mission-- for once, the players are the guards!
Use a combination of Fiendish Camouflage and Amorphus Anatomy to get literally anywhere in camp, and find someone who likes to sleep solo...
How to handle surprise: When you go to make your attack, ask every awake person to roll initiative. If they haven't spotted the Manipus by the time it's ready to strike, They are considered surprised. When the sleeping people wake up (due to combat noise or guards shouting), they are now also surprised for one round as they wake up.
Cooking the Manipus
Round 1. Your target should be unconscious if you've managed to sneak up on a sleeping foe. That means your Tentacled Grasp not only has advantage, it will automatically crit if you're within 5ft, so don't use your reach!
Round 2. Stay latched onto your opponent's throat, use Fiendish Ink to give them disadvantage on the Athletics Check to escape.
Round 3+. After round 2, it's fairly simple! Just keep dragging them into the ink, and punching them with your weird tentacle-fists (via Tentacled Grasp).
Manipus
Medium Fiend, chaotic evil
- Armor Class 12 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 52 (8d10 + 8)
- Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 13 (+1) 13 (+1) 4 (-3) 10 (+0) 4 (-3)
- Skills Perception +4, Stealth +5
- Damage Immunity. Poison
- Condition Immunity. Poisoned.
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
- Languages —
- Challenge 1 (200 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Fiendish Camouflage. So long as it remains motionless, the Manipus can hide in any environment by changing its colors to appear as natural fauna, or to simply blend in.
Water Breathing. Manipus can breathe underwater.
Amorphus Anatomy. The Manipus can squeeze in any gap as small as 1 inch in diameter.
Gripping Grappler. The Manipus has advantage on attacks against creatures that it is grappling.
Actions
Tentacled Grasp. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it is grappled (escape DC 14). If the attack had advantage, the Manipus latches onto the throat of it's target, and the grappled creature cannot speak or and is considered Choking (see next page).
Fiendish Ink (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). A 10-foot-radius cloud of poisonous ink extends all around the Manipus. The area is heavily obscured for 1 minute, although a significant wind can disperse the ink. Creatures who enter the ink cloud or begin their turn in it must make a DC 14 Constitution save or become Poisoned until the start of their next turn.
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Things you should know
- A grappled creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed. The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated. The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.
- Choking: When a creature runs out of breath or is choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round). At the start of its next turn, it drops to 0 hit points and is dying, and it can't regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again. For example, a creature with a Constitution of 14 can hold its breath for 3 minutes. If it starts suffocating, it has 2 rounds to reach air before it drops to 0 hit points.
- A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
- An unconscious creature is incapacitated, can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. The creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.
- If you're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can't take a reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't. (Notice it says your first turn of combat, so if someone joins late but is surprised, it's valid)